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DISCOURSE 


AT THE FUNERAL OF 


REV. TIMOTHY P. GILLETT, 


(FORMERLY PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL OHUECH,) 


AT 

BRANFORD, CONN., NOV. 7, 1866, 


By REV. W. T. EUSTIS, Jr., 


PASTOR OF THE CHAPEL STREET CHURCH. NEW HA VEX. COXN. 


NEW 11 A VEX: 


I'RESS OF TTJTTLE, MOREBOUSE «t TAYLOR. 


1867, 



DISCOURSE 



AT THE FUNERAL OF 



REY. TIMOTHY PV GILLETT, 



(FORMERLY PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,) 



AT 



BRANFORD, CONN., NOV. 7, 1866, 






y* 



By REV. W; T. ETJSTIS, Jr., 
u 

PASTOR OF THE CHAPEL STREET CHURCH, NEW HAVEN, CONN. 



V 



NEW HAYEN: 

PRESS OP TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE <fe TAYLOR. 

1867. 



T3)(7afeo 
■ G-4-3 E7 



DISCOURSE 



ECCLESIASTES I. 4. 

" One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the 
earth abedeth forever." 

Professor Stuart, in his Commentary, applies this text 
not only to the frailty of human life, but also to the vanity of 
human labor. He thus interprets the meaning of the passage : 
"The sentiment is, that the earth is fixed and immutable, and 
admitting no changes for the better, and, consequently, no 
hopes of lightening human misery by such changes. Man's 
condition in the world, and his relation to it, must ever remain 
the same. His frailty in himself on the one hand, and on the 
other the foreclosure against any change for the better in the 
things without, concur to show that he can find no permanent 
happiness here." 

These views concerning man in his relation to the world, 
especially so far as the immutability of the earth is involved, 
do not accord with facts. Even the graDite rock is worn by 
the continual whirl of the drops in the swift eddy, and the 
ocean has been dotted with islands, by the toil of minute 
insects. The earth is not unalterable, for the generations of 
man have transformed its surface, until it resembles that world 
where our first parents ate bread in the sweat of toil, only as 



the half finished statue resembles the rough block of marble 
just broken from the quarry. 

I derive another meaning, therefore, from the text, than that 
which ascribes vanity to human labor, since, while the genera- 
tions succeed each other, the earth remains as a memorial of 
their skill and workmanship, who have fashioned its materials 
into forms of beauty, or builded them into a sanctuary. The 
earth abides although men die ; the monument stands when the 
laborers have passed away. The granite obelisk in the square 
at Paris, whose surface is covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, 
has on its base the name of the Emperor who caused it to be 
brought over the seas, and the engraving of the machinery by 
which it was raised on its present foundation, and thus records 
the labor of men separated by thousands of miles, and tens of 
centuries. So, in the time of Christ, the Temple at Jerusa- 
lem was a memorial of Solomon, of Nehemiah, of the Macca- 
bees, and of Herod, while the mosque now standing on the 
ancient foundations must yet be replaced by a Christian sanc- 
tuary. 

After the same manner, the generations of men have been 
laboring under the Divine architect, who is preparing this 
world for a grander destiny ; and the final result, when the 
scaffolding is removed, will justify the wisdom of the Builder. 

Material changes and progress are, however, auxiliary to 
that spiritual work which is the chief duty for every genera- 
tion, and which not only preserves the memory of the past, 
but renders the labor beneficial for the future, leaving the der- 
rick on the unfinished tower for the use of the workmen who 
shall complete the structure which was commenced centuries 
ago. Jews and Gentiles made ready for the laying of that 
corner stone, elect and precious, on which we are commanded 
to place ourselves as lively stones in a spiritual temple. 



This truth may, therefore, be derived from the text, that 
while men die, the purpose and plan of Grod moves forward. 
" One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, 
but the earth abideth forever." The Apostle would seem to 
have had this passage with that of Isaiah in his mind, when 
he wrote, " for all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is 
as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower 
thereof fadeth away, but the word of the Lord endureth for- 
ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached 
unto you." 

The transient and evanescent, however, obtains value from 
the enduring, as the preciousness of the body which returns to 
dust is justified by the immortal spirit which animated and 
used its organism. The Sacramental feast which Jesus insti- 
tuted on the night of his betrayal, has witnessed the continual 
removal of the guests, who have here commemorated the Lord. 
Apostles, Confessors, Martyrs, have successively followed 
Christ into eternity, but the table is still spread, the Sacra- 
ment is preserved, the Church of Grod abideth forever, and 
has been adorned and enlarged by the endeavor and prayers 
of the faithful, who have finished their toil and rested from 
their labors. 

These reflections teach the propriety and honor of laboring 
for that which endureth. 

Hitherto, indeed, the masses have had small liberty of choice 
in their service, but have wrought and perished under the 
decree of inexorable tyrannies, although their tasks have pro- 
duced blessings which we enjoy in our pleasant homes and in 
our peaceful security. Nevertheless, there have always been, 
since the days of Noah, intelligent co-workers with God in the 
world ; men who strove to accomplish the divine plan, and who 
labored to build up the everlasting kingdom. This goodly 



6 



village, with its pleasant dwellings and this neat sanctuary, 
recall the memory of the pious emigrants who purchased the 
land from the Indians, and then settled upon the territory, 
organizing both a civil government and a Christian church. 
We are also reminded of those who, in later years, brought 
the books from their scanty libraries to the house of a for- 
mer Pastor over this church, and there, in the name of Christ, 
founded Yale College. These achievements illustrate the 
nobility of that ambition, when rightly and devoutly employed, 
which would do something worthy of remembrance, and which 
even heathen philosophy recognized as a proof of our immor- 
tality. No honest toil is in vain, but that which lasts forever 
is that which is wrought upon the eternal. The wise will not 
waste strength on the evanescent, but will spend it on the 
enduring. Such do not write their names on the sand before 
a rising tide, but chisel them in the adamantine cliff or the 
granite pyramid. Yet nothing wears like the service done for 
GJ-od in promoting human salvation, by upbuilding the Christ- 
ian church. The word of God endureth forever, and he who 
has shared in its proclamation and fulfilled its behests, has the 
divine promise of an endless reward. They who, in the name 
of Christ, teach the way of salvation to the perishing, are the 
builders of that sanctuary, where the redeemed will worship 
through eternity, and will be held in perpetual remembrance ; 
for, though they cease from their labors, their works do follow 
them. This is treasure laid up in heaven, whose income is 
everlasting. 

The occasion which has brought us together reminds us, 
both of the fact, that one generation passeth away, and 
another generation cometh, and also of the truth that there 
is a work which endureth, because it is wrought upon the 
imperishable. 



We have assembled to bury the body of one who emphati- 
cally belonged to a generation which has departed, and of 
whom he was almost a solitary, as he was a fitting representa- 
tive. Father Grillett, as he has been very suitably named for 
many years, was not merely associated with the past by his 
venerable age, but he was a living witness of former days, 
through his keen observation and accurate statements, while 
he was himself a goodly specimen of the manners and virtues 
of the preceding generation. 

Born on the fifteenth of June, in the year of our Lord seven- 
teen hundred and eighty, he was a babe of four months at the 
surrender of Cornwallis. He was nine years old when G-eorge 
Washington was inaugurated President of the United States, 
and his memory included the whole period of our national 
existence under the present Constitution. Napoleon Buona- 
parte was only eleven years his senior ; and within his recol- 
lection occurred the French Kevolution, with the subsequent 
wars, which appear to many of us almost as far back in anti- 
quity as the time of Cromwell, or of Julius Caesar. He 
preached to the last of the Aborigines from whom these hills 
and meadows were purchased, and described, in his sharply 
cut style, the changes which had taken place during his min- 
istry. His half-century sermon alludes to the time when the 
universal mode of traveling was on horseback ; when there were 
no stoves in the houses, but only open 'fires ; and no fire in the 
meeting-house ; when the uncarpeted floors were sanded ; and 
this was the condition at the date of his ordination, when he 
was twenty-seven years of age. Yet he was himself, likewise, 
an honorable memorial of the past, deserving veneration, and 
teaching valuable lessons, and he has left us a rich legacy 
through his Christian fidelity in the gospel ministry. A gene- 
ration passeth in his departure, but his work remaineth, for 



8 



he wrought intelligently, skilfully, and diligently, upon that 
which abideth forever. 

Timothy Phelps Gillett was born June 15th, A. D. 1780, 
in Farmingbury, now Wolcott, being the oldest child of Alex- 
ander Gillett and Adah Kogers. His father was, at the time 
of his birth, Pastor of the Church in Farmingbury, and after 
a settlement of eighteen years, was dismissed, Nov. 1791, and 
in the following May was installed Pastor of the First Church 
in Torrington, where he died, Jan. 19, A. D. 1826, in the 
seventy-seventh year of his age, and the fifty-third of his min- 
istry. His wife was the third daughter of Deacon Josiah 
Rogers, of Farmingbury, Ct., and a descendant of the famous 
John Rogers.* Rev. Alexander Gillett, was the child of pious 
parents, who lived in a part of Simsbury, Ct., now Granby, 
and was trained in the knowledge of divine truth by his 
devout grandmother. The father of Timothy, was a man of 
uncommon ability, and was, in his day, among the leading 
preachers in Connecticut. Graduating at Yale College in 
1770, he retained his familiarity with classical literature, and 
after the meridian of life commenced the study of Hebrew, 
and modestly acknowledged, in later years, that he had read 
through the Hebrew Bible three times. He had a large library 
for that day, and in theology claimed to be a disciple of Ed- 
wards. His ministry was abundantly blessed, and one of the 
early volumes of the " Conn. Evangelical Magazine," con- 
tains his narrative of a great revival of religion in Torrington, 
where his son Timothy was hopefully converted. This son, 
the oldest of six children, two of whom survive, inherited 
many of his father's characteristics, and we trace a family like- 
ness between the Pastor at Torringford and the Pastor at 



* Deacon Rogers belonged to the family of Thomas Rogers, who came over in the 
Mayflower. 



Branford, in the portrait of the former, by his friend, Rev. 
Luther Hart. 

The following sentences of this brief memoir might be ap- 
plied to the venerable son, as well as to the honored father. 

" It was one of the most prominent traits of his character, 
that he made all of his literary pursuits subservient to the 
momentous business of his holy calling. He daily consecrated 
his time and talents to the service of Christ. His life, it is 
believed, was as correct an exemplification of the practical 
rules of the gospel, as can well be found, even among the most 
devoted ministers of Christ. Scarcely has any person, in any 
station, uttered fewer words at random. Possessing a won- 
derful command over his passions, provocation rarely betrayed 
him into expressions which demanded regret, and carefully 
guarding against all undue animal excitement, even if others 
in his company were facetious, it is not recollected that he ever 
uttered a sentence inconsistent with the dignity and sobriety 
becoming a minister of the gospel. His eldest son has ob- 
served, ' though he frequently smiled, I never heard him 
laugh/ " 

Alluding to his personal habits and characteristics, the wri- 
ter adds : — 

"Upon' him whose character is attempted to be delineated 
in these pages, no defect, on the score of economy, could be 
charged. Without patrimony, and receiving, till within a few 
years of his death, a very small salary, he yet, by the assist- 
ance of his frugal and industrious companion, brought up six 
children ; assisted one of them in procuring a collegiate edu- 
cation, and left his family in possession of a valuable farm. 

" Another leading trait in his character was, that he did 
everything methodically, and in season. At a particular hour 
he retired at night, and at a particular hour he rose in the 

2 



10 



morning. He was distinguished for his punctuality in the ful- 
fillment of his public and private engagements." 

These quotations indicate the origin of those characteristics 
in which the son closely resembled the father whom he revered. 
Mr. Gillett entered Williams College in 1800, when he was 
twenty years of age, and graduated in 1804. The minis- 
ters of Litchfield County, were then accustomed to send their 
sons to this institution, partly for economical reasons. After 
graduation, Mr. Gillett taught, for one year, at Cornwall, and 
then in the academy at Williamstown, until, in 1806, he was 
appointed Tutor, and retained that office for one year and a 
half. Gordon Hall, Samuel J. Mills, and James Kichards, 
were then undergraduates in that College, and Mr. Gillett has 
stated to members of his congregation, that they were accus- 
tomed to hold a prayer-meeting in his room, and to consult in 
regard to the duty of carrying the gospel to the heathen. He 
never lost tne interest thus awakened in Foreign Missions, but 
was an earnest advocate of the cause, and the warm friend of 
the American Board. During his Tutorship, he studied the- 
ology under President Fitch, and was licensed as a candidate 
for the gospel ministry, by the Litchfield North Association, 
Sept. 30th, 1806. In the winter of 1807 and 8, having re- 
signed his Tutorship, Mr. Gillett supplied the pulpit, for two 
Sundays, at East Haven, and was then invited to preach in 
the vacant pulpit of the Church at Branford. He received, 
shortly after, a call to settle with them in the gospel ministry, 
on a salary of five hundred dollars, and the privilege of cutting 
firewood on the Society's lands, until, from continued ill-health 
or infirmity he should be no longer able to perform the duties 
of a gospel minister among them. This invitation was ac- 
cepted, and, June 15th, 1808, on his twenty-eighth birthday, 
he was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry, as Pastor 
of this Church. 



11 



The sermon was preached, on that occasion, by his father, 
from Matt. xiii. 52 ; and the charge of the parent to his son 
deserves to be quoted, for its description of the early training 
of the candidate, and for the eloquent pathos of the address. 
It is as follows : — 

" The subject will now close, with some particular addresses. 

1. To the Pastor Elect. Son Timothy: — It may "be ex- 
pected that the preacher will address you on this occasion with 
the faithfulness of a father, and minister of Christ. As a 
father, he would observe : — On the morn when your infant face 
was first presented to him, the thoughts forcibly struck his 
mind : ( Here now is a rational creature, begun an existence 
which will never terminate. Of how much more importance 
this babe than the whole world of irrational beings. He has 
now entered into the state of probation, and bound to heaven 
or hell, according to the moral character here formed. This 
character will depend, much, on the parent's conduct/ How 
solemn the scene ! He felt it. Likewise, that you were a gift 
from God to be improved in his service. Hence, as soon as 
the convenient time came, you were solemnly consecrated to 
him in baptism, and his seal set on you as wholly the Lord's. 
The question would then naturally arise, in what station of 
life may this child best serve God and his generation. Per- 
haps this may be in the Christian ministry. This has been 
an object of your father's cordial desire and prayer to God for 
you, ever since you were born. However, he could never wish 
to see you in so important a station, unless your qualifications 
might correspond. It never appeared to him that an ignorant, 
selfish, mercenary and sinful son, could afford him any conso- 
lation. "A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is 
the heaviness of his mother." Therefore it early became your 



12 



father's endeavor, as your opening genius appeared to unfold, 
to give you a suitable education. But still, human science, 
without grace, does not complete the qualification necessary 
for the servant of Christ. A person unregenerate, may have 
all knowledge, and appear to teach sound doctrine, yet he is 
prone to betray the cause of Christ on the first convenient 
opportunity. Beside, of what advantage will it be to a person 
in the end, to preach to others and then be a cast away ? In 
view of these things, your father could not reflect on your 
moral situation, for a long time, without trembling. What 
then must have been his feelings, when in the late outpouring 
of the Spirit of God, 1799, at Torrington, you was made a 
hopeful subject of His special influences, and, together with a 
number of your young companions, came forward and sub- 
scribed unto the Lord ? This was a gladness which none can 
tell, but those who have have had the experience. 

" After much embarassment, you have obtained a liberal 
education, and the requisite attainments for the ministry." 

The father then proceeded with exhortations to fidelity and 
patience, and ended with this solemn appeal : — - 

" These considerations must influence you never to be found 
only in the business of your heavenly Father and Kedeemer. 
Thus you will have your father's blessing. And now that the 
solemnities before you may suitably fix your attention, the 
speaker, as a servant of Christ, would remind you that this place 
is as solemn as if the great Head of the Church were personally 
present, and on your being set apart to the ministry, should 
address you in this impressive manner : — " Timothy, I ac- 
cept thy consecration to my service in the ministry, and I now 
commit the precious souls of this flock, both old and young, both 



13 



parents and children, to thy pastoral care. I expect that thou 
be faithful to feed my sheep and my lambs, with the pure 
word of my kingdom. The day will come, when thou and 
they must appear before my bar, to give an impartial account. 
If thou wisely and carefully declare the whole counsel of God, 
instructing, warning, and reproving them, as their state and 
circumstances may require, thou shalt be accepted in that day. 
Thou shalt then come before thy Judge, and say, e Here am I 
Lord, and these souls which thou hast graciously given to thy 
servant/ And they shall be thy crown of joy in my presence, 
where I am, and you shall behold my glory forever ; if any of 
them fail, yet I will be glorified, and thou with me. But if 
thou prove unfaithful, and any be lost through thy neglect, 
their blood will I require at thy hands. Be not cast down, be 
faithful to keep that which is committed to thy trust, and 
though all should forsake thee, yet I will not. I will be with 
thee alway, even to the end of the world, and through a glori- 
ous eternity." 

Such was the training of this disciple for his work, and 
thus impressively was he entrusted with the pastoral office 
over this people, more than fifty-eight years years ago. 

Who shall say, that the influence of that pious parent ceased 
with his life, when his son has striven to fulfill the injunc- 
tions thus eloquently enforced, and to imitate the virtues of 
his honored and pious ancestry ? 

The young minister was married, Nov. 29, 1808, to Sallie 
Hodges ; who, after nearly sixty years of a happy and peace- 
ful wedlock, survives him to mourn his absence, tarrying for 
the summons which will re-unite them in the heavenly society. 
They lived, for the first two years after their marriage, in a 
dwelling on South street, but in the spring of 1811, purchased 



14 



and fitted up the old tavern, where they have resided together 
ever since, and whence his body has been brought to-day. 

Bred in the frugality of a New England home, Mr. Grillett 
and his wife had not, after marriage, to learn the lesson of 
economy, but with conscientious carefulness and industry, 
maintained their small household in the respectability becoming 
their station. Having inherited a small property through his 
wife, he managed its disposition and investment with great 
sagacity, and exemplary prudence, until it has accumulated, 
during these sixty years, to a large amount. Having no child- 
ren, his domestic expenses were comparatively small, and were 
met, until within a few years, by his salary, which he quietly 
reminded his people, at the close of his half century of labor, 
was almost the only thing which had continued without 
change, during that period. He said : — " I have asked no 
more, and my people have offered no more, though for the last 
twenty years my expenditures have, probably, exceeded my 
salary." 

Notwithstanding this frugality, no one could suspect his 
strict integrity or his kindness of heart. He declined to use 
any portion of the paternal estate, and has modestly and regu- 
larly aided the Christian enterprises of benevolence, and re- 
lieved the needy in his own neighborhood. His business capa- 
city and success never hindered the faithful performance of 
pastoral duties, but rather added to the efficiency of his official 
labors. He was, like his father, scrupulously exact in attend- 
ing to every service which was appointed, either in public or 
private, and never failed in fulfilling the task assigned. He 
cheerfully gave up an intended journey, to wait at the sick bed 
of a parishioner, and his ministrations were assiduous and 
faithful. Worldly prosperity never rendered him vain or 
severe. 






15 



He followed the example of his father by retaining scholarly- 
habits ; and for more than twenty years taught a select school, 
either in his own house, or in the academy building, which was 
erected chiefly through his exertions. 

He certainly did not regard pecuniary profit in this work, for 
he readily gave their tuition to the needy, and his price, when 
payment was offered, was only two dollars a term, while the 
teacher furnished the fire-wood. He thus afforded to this 
town the privileges of education, and fitted a number to enter 
College, who have become either Pastors at home, or Mission- 
aries to the heathen. He was mindful of the moral and reli- 
gious welfare of the young, and, for many years, taught a 
weekly Bible-class, while he also read carefully the books 
designed for the library of the Sunday School, before they were 
admitted to a place on the shelves. 

Punctual in his attendance upon the ecclesiastical councils, 
and ministerial associations with which he was connected, 
prompt to perform any service assigned, he endeared himself 
to his brethren by Christian gentleness, and sterling piety. 
Educated in the strict Calvinism of his father, and obtaining 
his knowledge of theology from the Westminster divines, he 
was naturally disturbed by any innovation, since he was con- 
servative in his whole moral and intellectual framework. He 
very quietly, but persistently, allied himself to the party called 
Old School, in the controversies of thirty years ago, and was 
associated with the founders of the Seminary at East Windsor. 
Yet he never lost confidence or respect for the ministerial 
brethren who differed from him on the questions then in dis- 
cussion, but gladly welcomed them to his pulpit, and sought 
their aid in the revivals with which his preaching was blest in 
1814, 1819, 1822, 1831, 1840, 1842, 1851, and 1858. 



16 



Brought, himself, to the saving knowledge of Christ during 
a great awakening, he always prized these harvest seasons, and 
was especially watchful for the souls of his flock. His Christ- 
ian sagacity was manifested in his conversations with those 
who were enquiring the way of salvation. 

As a preacher, his sermons were distinguished for their clear 
statements, their evangelical spirit, and their earnest desire for 
the religious welfare of his hearers. They were delivered with 
slight gestures, yet with a quiet force which attracted and 
impressed. As a man, he was modest, kind, self-controlled 
and true. He seldom gave utterance to his deepest feelings, 
was calm under trial, and returned enmity, when it assailed 
him, with words of quietness. He was reticent concerning his 
own religious convictions and feelings, except that his dis- 
courses breathed the spirit of devotion. Thus, standing here, 
he said : "I have great reason to be humble for my unfaith- 
fulness and deficiencies, and to ponder solemnly, with the 
deepest feelings of my soul, on the enquiry, " Have any of this 
people perished in consequence of my being a minister of the 
gospel here ? Have all been saved who might have been saved 
if their minister had been faithful unto them ?" He was far 
from morose, but a gentle humor lighted his features and 
played in his words, when he felt perfectly at home. Like his 
father, he often smiled, but seldom laughed. His semi-centen- 
nial sermon has many gleams of humor, uttered with a pen- 
sive gravity. Thus, referring to the ancient custom of lim- 
iting the right of suffrage to church members, he remarks : 
" Probably no person at the present time will advocate the 
views of the early settlers of New England on this point, or 
justify the wish to vest all civil, as well as ecclesiastical 
power, in the church, or rather, in those who were members of 
it ; but it admits of a question, whether such a policy would 



17 



be more disastrous to social improvement and happiness, than 
the one now so much in vogue with many, that evangelical 
religion disqualifies a man for any civil office." How inimit- 
able the satirical sketch of the modern method for ascertaining 
the qualifications of a man for the ministry, by the Committee 
of a church, who close with these interrogations : u 1st. Is he 
a popular man and a good speaker ? 2d. Has he pleasant 
social qualities ? 3d. Is he a man of superior talents — a smart 
man ? 4th. Can he live on a small salary ? And, lastly, 
when all these are satisfactorily answered, with hat in hand 
and foot on the threshold — / suppose, Sir, he is pious" His 
face was the index of his character ; placid, yet resolute ; kind, 
but restrained ; a gentle eye and a firm lip; thoughtful and 
self-controlled, denoting a man of courtesy, who never suffered 
himself to be shaken by passion. He was more than he seemed, 
and so it will be felt, now that he has gone from your homes. 
In 1824, the General Association of Conn, met at G-oshen, 
when Samuel Goodrich was Moderator, Noah Porter and Tim- 
othy P. G-illett were Scribes. The two who were then associ- 
ated in the vigor of middle life, have continued to a venerable 
old age in the parishes where they were first ordained, and 
have passed away, within a few weeks of each other, from 
the scenes of their earthly toils, to their heavenly reward ; the 
last of their generation. They belonged to a social state which 
has disappeared, but whose simplicity, virtue and piety, may 
be profitably studied and imitated. It has been my privilege 
from childhood, to be familiar with one of those homes of a New 
England Pastor, where neatness and order preside ; where 
domestic work glides so smoothly as never to jar ; where sun- 
down on Saturday begins the Sabbath, and the very air is redo- 
lent of purity and sanctity. When, sixteen years ago, I was 
welcomed to the dwelling of this good man, I felt at home, 

3 



18 



for here also was the same style of living, so exactly in har- 
mony with the station and character of 4he New England min- 
isters of the olden time, of Edwards, and Hopkins, and Bel- 
lamy. Keminding us of the past, they teach us that their 
generation has departed. 

Kev. Mr. Grillett had been subject, for many years, to acute 
attacks of disease, and it was one of these, which, on last 
Wednesday night, prostrated him suddenly, and, after a short 
illness, destroyed his life, at the advanced age of eighty-six 
years. During much of the time, he was unconscious, or was 
racked with intense pain. On Saturday evening, however, 
in a moment of relief, he folded his hands, saying, " let us 
pray," and led the devotions of the watchers. He soon relapsed 
into his former lethargy, and, on Monday morning, Nov. 5th, 
passed to the presence of his Grod and Saviour. 

His Christian life and service needed no dying rapture to 
seal our hope concerning him, but, like himself, quietly, meekly, 
silently, he crossed that threshold which separates time from 
eternity, to enter upon heavenly offices with the same assi- 
duity and fidelity which distinguished his earthly service. 

Any word of mine would avail little for the comfort of the 
widow, who must henceforth wait, by her lonely hearth, her 
own hour of departure. I would borrow the language of the 
deceased, at the funeral of an aged minister, nearly thirty 
years ago. 

" While you now feel the widow's loneliness and sorrows, 
you also have full confidence that the sovereignty of God in 
this bereavement is right and glorious. You have seen that 
the end of your beloved husband was peace. You trust that 
his Divine Master and Saviour, who had sustained and com- 
forted him all his life long, was with him until the end, and 
your hope is that with this dear friend all is now well ; that his 



19 



trials and conflicts are now over, and that, as for him to live 
was Christ, so to die was gain. You cannot but bless God for 
giving you such a companion, making him so useful to you, 
and sparing him to you so long. I trust that you will find 
that G-od has sent even this affliction in his faithfulness. You 
can now cast all your cares on Him who careth for you. And, 
as the attractions of the world diminish, while one and another 
who have been dear to you have left it, those of heaven in- 
crease, as more and more of your Christian friends, whom you 
hope to see there hereafter, are gathered into it. And while you 
are ready to say, the Judge of all the earth doeth right, you will 
feel that if you are to live and labor a little longer for Christ, 
it is only for a little time, and then the Master will come for 
you also." With these words your husband comforted 
another, and these words should comfort you. 

This congregation and this town cannot appreciate how 
much they are indebted to the life and labors of this servant 
of G-od. We are about to follow his earthly remains to the 
old burying-ground, where all your former Pastors and their 
wives, save one, sleep; but their influence remains, although 
their bodies return to dust. 

Centuries ago, in a chapel in Central Europe, worked a pa- 
tient artist, who, with a loving hand for the honor of the Ke- 
deemer, carved a pulpit, in a design of wondrous beauty. The 
neighbors ridiculed the waste of time and talent on so elaborate 
a device, for a small reward ; but the finished task awakened 
even their uncultivated admiration, and the work became the 
glory of their sanctuary. That humble carver has added 
renown to his city, and is still honored for the cunning devoted 
to so sacred a purpose. In the coming years, you will learn to 
admire and venerate this faithful workman in fashioning 
souls into the image of Jesus Christ. 



20 



Fathers, and brethren in the gospel ministry, while one gen- 
eration passeth away, and another generation cometh, let us 
labor to adorn the Church of the living G-od, by winning souls, 
through His grace, to the love and service of the Redeemer ; 
for that will be an everlasting memorial, and a crown of glory 
in the day of the Lord Jesus. 



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